3D Reflectarray Antenna Design for Ku Application using 3D Printer Technology
IEEE Access, vol.14, pp.86273-86284, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 14
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1109/access.2026.3700326
- Journal Name: IEEE Access
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Page Numbers: pp.86273-86284
- Keywords: 3-D printer, antenna design, Ku-band, Reflectarray
- Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This paper presents the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of a Ku-band 3D-printed reflectarray (RA) antenna established on a quasi-periodic arrangement, operating at 13 GHz. The proposed grounded dielectric only 3D unit cell consists of a polylactic acid (PLA)-based multilayer structure incorporating a constant height prism on top of which a variable height square prism resonator is located; such a configuration is maintained at a constant distant from the ground plane through and an air spacer. The arrangement enables continuous reflection-phase control through geometry and material parameter tuning. A systematic parametric analysis is conducted to quantify the influence of air-gap thickness, dielectric thickness, relative permittivity, and resonator dimensions on the reflection-phase response. The results demonstrate that the air spacer provides the dominant phase-adjustment mechanism, while the remaining parameters enable fine-resolution phase compensation, forming a practical and fabrication-aware phase-synthesis strategy. Using full-wave–generated phase mapping and classical RA compensation principles, a 16 × 16 array comprising 256 elements and of extension of 240 × 240 mm² is synthesized. Numerical simulations predict a realized gain of 21.4 dBi at 13 GHz with controlled sidelobe levels and stable polarization characteristics. A prototype has been fabricated using additive manufacturing technology and experimentally characterized in a horn-fed measurement setup. The measured radiation characteristics show good agreement with simulations, validating both the unit-cell model and the aperture-level phase distribution methodology. The proposed approach demonstrates that low-cost 3D-printing technology can realize high-gain Ku-band RAs without multilayer stacking or complex fabrication processes. Owing to its scalability, lightweight structure, and compatibility with tunable elements, the presented design framework offers a promising pathway toward broadband, reconfigurable RAs and next-generation intelligent reflecting surfaces for satellite and high-frequency wireless communication applications.